April 1, 2026 - Exodus 28 & Psalm 73

We connect the beauty and precision of Exodus 28 to approaching God with reverence and remembering that the priest represents real people before the Lord. We also walk through Psalm 73’s honest struggle with envy and show how nearness to God resets our focus and steadies our steps. 

For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compassbiblesv.org. Keep reading. Keep growing. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path. 

Transcript

Exodus 28 Overview Of Garments

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way. I'm Josiah Smith, joined by Tyler Sanborn. Today is Wednesday, April 1st, 2026. Here's a quick summary of Exodus 28. Now, Exodus 28 is all about the priest garments. So even in here in verse 1, it says, Then bring near to you Aaron your brother and his sons with him from among the people of Israel to serve me as priest. Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eliezer and Ithamar. You shall make holy garments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and for beauty. So this whole chapter, Exodus 28, is detailing the crafting of these garments, and they are to be done skillfully, even in verse 6. They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple and scarlet yarns and of fine twin twined linen skillfully worked. So these are to be beautiful. They are to be made with attention to detail. And these garments are to be worn by the priests who would represent man to God, specifically the twelve tribes of Israel, which we'll talk more about in a second. But that's Exodus 28, all about the detailing of the crafting, the all of the different jewels and uh how it's all coming together and where everything's supposed to be located for the priestly garments.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Listen intently to God's written word. Psalm 73. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death. Their bodies are fat and sleek they are not in trouble as others are, they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore, pride is their necklace, violence covers them as a garment, their eyes swell out through fatness, their hearts overflow with follies, they scoff and speak with malice, loftily they threaten oppression, they set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues struts through the earth. Therefore, his people turn back to them and find a fault in them. And they say, How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the wicked, always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places, you make them fall to ruin, how they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors. Like a dream, when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms, when my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant, I was like a beast towards you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you, you hold my right hand, you guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish, but you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Now in Exodus twenty-eight, we are continuing all of the detailed instructions that God is giving to Moses, to then, of course, relay to the people of Israel. And in chapter 28, specifically, there are details about the priestly garments. And Tyler, let me just tell you that these garments are more precious in terms of all of the material, more expensive than I bet any garment you've ever owned. What's the most expensive garment you would say you own? Probably my wedding suit, and even that was kind of like a it was affordable. Was that a Sears 30% off? I wasn't going, I wasn't going out all out. Where'd you get your wedding suit from? I think it was men's warehouse.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

I don't know. It was probably on.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

It was discounted, probably. 60%.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

That's fine. Got a steward well, brother.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

That's fine. Yeah, I mean, uh I don't even know what mine would be. Probably the same. Oh, I bought a suit uh a few years ago for church functions like weddings and funerals, and that that's probably the most expensive clothing item that I own. But nevertheless, even though that is the case, uh nowhere near the lavish nature of the priestly garments. And I don't know about you, but I don't have any garments that have this level of gold, this level of craftsmanship. Uh, none of that, right? They shall make the ephod of gold, it's kind of like an apron, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, none of that, and a fine twine linen skillfully worked. It shall have two shoulder pieces attached, and all of this, by the way, is made by hand. Imagine that. So much of our clothes now are made by machines in different countries. And uh here in Israel, they are making these uh incredible garments for the priests by hand with these detailed instructions. Now, even uh the the help to do that is even in verse three, God says, You shall speak to all the skillful whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. So the skill necessary was was something even God Himself says, I'm going to kind of uh ensure that the right people have the right skills to accomplish the right task of uh crafting these garments. Now, what's so fascinating about this, of course, none of you are gonna go and craft a priestly garment for you to wear or for anyone else uh to wear today. So you might be thinking, what in the world am I gonna do with Exodus 28 today? As I read on this and meditate on this. So let me just draw one thing out for you that I thought was interesting that maybe it could be an encouragement. Um, I want you to notice the parallels in all the materials the gold, um, the fine twined linen, uh the blue and purple and scarlet yarns, all of those things, how they parallel with the actual materials of the tabernacle itself, and more specifically, the actual curtain that separates the holy of holies from the holy place. Uh, some of the exact same materials, the purple of scarlet yarn, especially gold, uh, were used in the construction of the priestly garments and the construction of the holy of holies that that was the dwelling place of the Lord. And there's a connection there intentionally, because of course the priestly work was connected to the holy place, which was kind of the outer room before you headed into the holy of holies, and it was connected to their work and their service of God. So you can see the parallels between if you even uh were reading yesterday or listening to Tyler talk about uh the the court of the tabernacle, the bronze altar, uh all of those different things. And we're seeing the construction of the tabernacle come together, uh, all of those materials again that mirror a lot of the materials here in the priestly garments, specifically the gold, the purple, the fine linens, and those things uh interweave and they uh kind of are connected again because of the work and the nature of the work by a priest and uh this tabernacle being the dwelling place of God.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

I had a visual just now, Pastor Josiah. It's like you're going to a wedding, you're going to something that is of great significance. You're not just gonna wear whatever, you're you're not just gonna wear whatever's clean on that day. You're gonna wear something intentional, something that is fitting the occasion, and these priests are going uh into the tabernacle. They're they're going to um go and do God's work. And for those priests that are going into the Holy of Holies, I guess it's only fitting that they would have uh an outfit that that shows reverence to God.

Jesus As Our Great High Priest

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah, and a priest's role was to represent the nation of Israel to God, he was their representative, and so that's why we see uh in Exodus 28 the instruction to have on the priestly garments the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And there's in two different places there's two stones, six on six of the twelve on one, six on the other. Uh, even in verse twenty one, there shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name for the twelve tribes. And then it talks about the the breast piece, and um, there's another instance of the twelve tribes, uh, even in verse 29. So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breast piece, breast piece of judgment on his heart when he goes into the holy place to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord. So there is this real sense in which the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, the nation that God has made this covenant with, made these promises to, that the priestly work was to consistently bring those names as a representative on behalf of those names and those people that are represented within those tribes, the land that is allotted to them before the Lord. So all of these details are so intentional. Uh, of course, their value says something about the work, uh, the work itself. Like you were mentioning, Tyler. Uh, on our wedding day, we got haircuts, we shaved, we uh wore nice suits that we purchased. Our our wives, of course, uh did much of the same. They bought dresses and um did their hair and and spent time because the preparation says something about uh the person and the event and the occasion. And of course, uh, that's what we see here in Exodus 28. So we see a priest representing the people uh to God, and even uh in a real sense, they kind of it goes in both directions, where uh they are a part of helping the nation of Israel obey God and uh a part of even helping them uh to worship God, and that's the tribe of Levi and the Levites, and a lot of the psalms, even the psalm that we're reading today, Psalm 73, uh talks about Asaph, where it's a psalm of Asaph. He was a kind of a worship leader in the congregation, and so uh their job was to help lead people in worship to God, but also uh to stand as a representative before God on behalf of those people. And so the garments represent that they showcase just the value of their role, uh, and there's overlap, again, with the construction of the tabernacle itself and the materials used, uh, even the stitching in the curtain that separated the holy of holies from the holy place, and that is represented and reflected in the priestly garments, and of course, the priestly work, and they're representing the 12 tribes of Israel. And of course, as we look forward to the New Testament, who is our great high priest? Well, it is Jesus. Uh, as we are reading and studying in the book of Hebrews, after making purification for sins, he sat down at the majesty on high, the right hand of the majesty on high. And so Jesus serves as our final great high priest, the great high priest, after the order of Melchizedek, because he is a priest forever, and his priesthood never ends, and his priestly work never ends. So these garments and this role point forward to the perfect, the ultimate great high priest that Jesus is now. Of course, he still is our high priest, he still lives to make intercession for us, as Hebrews talks about. And so I think of these things as again pointing forward, just a just a neon road sign, but it's an arrow that's saying keep going, and the destination is not the tabernacle, it's not even the temple, uh, it's Jesus Christ Himself, and it is Him who we find rest. Hebrews also talks about that. Uh, there is a rest that we can have in Christ because He is our great high priest who is offered a once-for-all sacrifice.

Psalm 73 And The Envy Trap

SPEAKER_01 14:06

You know, PJ, as I was looking at our psalm today, Psalm 73, I was thinking about distractions, and I was thinking about how easy it is for us to lose sight of what matters most. And uh the psalm of ASAF today uh has uh a focus on uh looking and and and finding other things to draw your attention to, and when that happens, uh where where do our feet go? They they lose their footing, they they fall off of the straight and narrow path and and we stumble. Um, if we're not fixed on on Christ, if we're not fixed on his word. And as we look at the first few verses here, we see that the psalmist is saying, God is so good to Israel, and he's good to those who are pure in heart, and he's confessing, my feet almost stumbled. I was nearly slipping. As we read on, there's this comparison and this attention that's drawn to the people who who seem to have no consequences for their wickedness, that seem to have uh no no judgment, no, no suffering in their life, uh their their bellies and their bodies are fat and sleek, and there's no pangs until death. And as as a people that um we do everything we can to not suffer, we do everything we can to to take care of um our our health. And when things go wrong, we double down, we we try to find the answer. What's going on here? What's what's wrong? And we look into our our text today, we see pride is the necklace, and violence covers these these wicked people as a garment. And for for us to see uh people in our in our world today that seemingly getting away with so much, there's no consequences for them. Uh you don't have to look to the news for too long before you see injustice and say, hey, where's the accountability? Where's where's the just judge? If this is all true, why is why are they getting uh away with that? But as we look further on to the psalm, we see that God is is uh a just God and He will um He He will not delay when uh verse 20 says, like a dream, when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as as phantoms, and they're destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly uh by terror. So this is a great reminder for us to to look to God. And as we think to our relationship with God, we look to 23. Verse 23, nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold my right hand, you guide and you counsel, you counsel, and afterward, you will receive me in glory. It's a great charge for us to keep our mind and our eyes fixed and not compare ourselves to people who are seemingly um benefiting from wickedness and benefiting from a life without accountability to God. But for us, God is our portion. He is He is the one that's gonna deliver us and ultimately deliver perfect justice one day. So we need not play the comparison game and look to the left and look to the right and say, Why why aren't you getting what you deserve? What we should be doing is keeping our eyes on the one who would uh who is our portion, who is our strength, and and let that be um our our focal point as we walk through this life.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Yeah, one thing, Tyler, that stuck out to me in verse six here uh is you already mentioned it, but therefore pride is their necklace, violence covers them as a garment. Now, there's two passages in the Old Testament, well, specifically in the law, that come to mind when I read this verse. Uh, their necklace, of course, that does remind me of uh what we just read in Exodus 28, but even more specifically, it reminds me of Deuteronomy 6, which talks about how the Lord is one, and we are to teach the instruction of the Lord. This is a command given to Israel, and I think by extension, us today, of his statutes and his precepts to our kids. Uh, we are to bind them around our neck, uh, and we are to essentially hold close and dear uh to our neck, to our heart, uh, the law of the Lord and submit to him and be obedient to him. Uh, but those who are prideful, it says their pride is their necklace. So rather than binding the law of God, the commands of God, the instructions of God to their heart, they are binding their own pride. They are binding uh their own thoughts of what they want to do or whatever pleasure they would like to seek. Um, Proverbs makes clear that there's a way that seems right to a man, but its end is destruction. And so we see that those kinds of people, and unfortunately, even lots in our world today, wide is the path that leads to destruction. Uh, their pride is their necklace. They're not binding the precepts of the Lord, they are binding uh their own pride, their own arrogance. And um, the psalms tell us that a fool says in his heart that there is no God, and it's a fool who is prideful and has pride as their necklace. So I thought of Deuteronomy chapter six, kind of a reversal of what God commands uh to his people to bind to themselves. Uh, they are to bind the things of God rather than the things of the flesh. And of course, we see here a reversal of that. And then the second part of the verse, violence covers them as a garment. That does make me think of Exodus 28 and the priestly garments uh that are intended to be representative of the work of uh the of course the the role of being a representative on behalf of the people to God and um the beauty and the ornate nature of the garments because of the work and because of who the work is being directed to, God Himself. Uh, but instead of offerings of praise, instead of offerings of sacrifice, offerings of worship, what are they covered with? Uh, they are covered with their garment of violence. So a priest puts on his garment to do a work on behalf of other people, uh, to seek to reconcile uh God and man through God's commands of offering these sacrifices and worshiping in these specific ways. But uh a person who is wicked uh does something different. Violence covers them as a garment, which flows, of course, from their necklace of pride. They do what they want, when they want, how they want, whenever they want. That's kind of what we see here in Psalm 73:6. So even ASAF basically is like, Man, they almost got me. They almost got me because I'm looking at those people. I'm looking at those people, and it seems like they've got it all. It seems like that necklace is pretty nice, and it's something that I want. But he says, But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. This is verse two, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. And what a what a great warning for us today to not look at uh the the wicked of this world, or to put it in the context here of what he says, the arrogant, and to to think because their life seems like it's all hunky dory, because their life looks like is very prosperous, maybe they have lots of money, lots of status, maybe they even have a sense of health, physically speaking, that maybe you don't have. Uh, learn from ASAF, who who who kind of wises up and says, Oh man, I almost stumbled, I almost slipped. I was being envious of the arrogant, but now I recognize that no, that their pride is their. Necklace and their violence covers them as a garment. It's a reversal of the things of the Lord. And of course, that ends in destruction.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

And I I love how this frame of mind gets fixed and corrected. And uh his his frame of mind is is centered once again, verses 27 and 28. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You will put an end to everyone who is unfaithful. And this is the one liner that we can keep rehearsing to ourselves day after day after day. But for me, it is good to be near God. It is good, it's good to be in his word, it's good to be calling out to him in prayer. And it's it's the best place to be when we find ourselves being tempted to look left and right and play the comparison game.

Closing Encouragement And Next Steps

SPEAKER_00 22:45

Amen. Well, hopefully that is an encouragement for you today. Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast. For more information about Compass Bible Church, South Valley, visit compass Bible SV.org. Keep reading, keep growing. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.